Improvement in wheels for vehicles



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM-32C. JOHNSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPRovr-:MEN-r IN wHEELs Fon VEHICLES.

Specification" forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,134, dated August 6, 1872.

Specification describing certain Improvements in Metallic Hubs and Axle-Boxes, invented by WM. C. JOHNSON, of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania.

I mprovements in Metallic Hubs and Axle-Boxes.

My invention is based upon that for which Letters Patent No. 113,171 were granted to me on the 28th day of March, 1871; and it consists of improvements in the axle-box and hub described in the said patent,in the method of securing tlie said axle-box to the hub, and of securing the spokes to the latter, all of which improvements are too fully explained hereafter to need preliminary description.

ln the accompanying` drawing, Figure 1 is a sectional view of my improved metallic hub 4and axle-box; Fig. 2, a perspective view of one section of the hub, showing the manner of setting the spokes; Figs. 3 and 4, sectional views,lillustrating the methodmof` securing the spokes; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the hubband, and of the nut adapted to the same, by which thel hub is secured to the axle-box, and Fig. 6, a view of-a modiiicatiou.

A represents a metallic axle, having a recess, a, at its outer end for the reception of tallow arfother lubricating material, and having the :usual collar b adapted to an enlargement,1fsl,at the rear end of the axle-box B, the latter being closed at its front end, and having an internal screw-thread cut in its enlarged rear end, to which is adapted a screwring or follower, D, (see Fig. 1,) this ring retaining the box upon the axle. Packing material eis introduced between the ring and the .collar b, and between the latter and an internal shoulder, f, of the box, so that the admission of dust or gritty matter into or the escape of lubricating material from the box is eifectually prevented. It will be evident that by this arrangement the usual rapid wearing away and undue heating of the parts will be prevented. The thread on the screw-rin g and on the axle-box should be right-handed for one end of the axle and left-handed for the opposite end; otherwise one of the said rings would be apt to become unscrewed by the turning of its wheel and box upon the axle.

The hub, as in my aforesaid patent of March 28, 1871, consists of two hollow sections, F and F', between which the spokes G are clamped, the said sections being cast separately and rendered detachable from the axlebox, upon which they are conned between a shoulder, h, on the same and a nut, H, adapted to the outer threaded end of the said box, and bearing against the front end of the section F. Each section of the hub has an inner flat face or disk for bearing against the edges of the spokes, the disk t' of the section F being cast in one piecev with the same, as in 'my aforesaid patent; but the disk J of the opposite section is made separate, so that access may be obtained to the nuts g of bolts K, which are used for the retention of the spokes in place of the projections and mortises on the inner faces of the sections, asdescribed in my aforesaid patent. In hubs of this class in which bolts are used for the retention ot' the spokes, the latter are usually forced inward, radially, toward the center of the hub by a complicated and expensive machine devised especially for the purpose, and when brought opposite the holes the bolts are passed `through the same and through the spokes,

and then secured by means of nuts. The tenons of the spokes are made wedge-shaped. by tapering them upon their opposite edges w fc, as best observed in Fig. 2, so that considerable pressure has to be exerted in forcing them inward radially, especially with light spokes, which are apt to bend and yield to the pressure. Considerable difficulty is therefore experienced in bringing them opposite the bolt-holes-an objection which Ihave overcome by adopting an entirely dierent method of setting the spokes, which I will now proceed to describe.

The bolts K are tapped into the section F of the hub, as shown in Fig. 1, so that each may project outward rigidly from the same, as seen in Fig. 2; or the said bolts may be secured by a nut and collar, as shown in Fig. 6, or in any other manner which will enable them to be held rigidly without falling out or yielding laterally, as would the ordinary bolts until secured at both ends. The spokes are recessed on their edges for the reception of the bolts, which extend upward between instead of through the said spokes, as shown in Fig. 2, one bolt being thus made to answer for two spokes. In setting the latter they are introduced between the bolts in the manner plainly shown in Fig. 2, the rigid bolts serving to retain them in position until the clamping-disk J can be placed over the whole. In addition to the usual taper on the edges w, the spokes are also tapered on their edges z, Figs. 3 and 4, so that the whole will be wedged tightly together, when the clampingdisk J is forced irmly against the same in order to bring them all into line, as shown in Fig. 4. In forcing the disk J against the double-edged tenons all strain is taken off the bolts, the outer ends of which are then passed through holes formed for their reception in the said disk, and after forcing the latter and the spokes into proper position the whole is secured by the nuts g, with which each of the bolts is provided. The hub is prevented from turning upon the axle-box by an arrangement of lugs m upon the said hub and box similar to that described in my aforesaid patent. When the axle-box becomes worn it is not necessary to discard any portion of the hub,-

as in wheels in which the latter forms part of the said box, for both sections of the hub, as well as the clamping-disk J, are cast separate from the box, thus enabling the latter to be entirely detached and replaced by a new one. In ordinary wheels of this class the hub-band L and nut H are formed in one piece, which renders it necessary that a portion of the said band should be squared in order to enable it to be turned by a wrench, and this unavoidably causes the said band to be scratched and wounded, rendering it very unsightly. This objection I have overcome by making the nut and band separate, and adapting the former to a recess of corresponding shape in the latter, so that after screwing up the nut the band, which is usually plated and highly polished, can be tted over the same and then secured by a set-screw, n, or otherwise.

I claim as my invention- 1. The axle-box, closed at its front end and having a packed joint at its rear, in combination with a detachable metallic hub, arranged to be withdrawn over the outer end of the box, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the box B, section F, bolts K, secured permanently by said section, clamping-disk J, and the detachable section F', and nut L or its equivalent, all substantially as specified.

3. The bolts K tapped into or otherwise rigidly secured to the section F of the hub at one end, so that the recessed tenons of the spokes may be introduced between the said bolts, and bey retained in position by the same until the other section of the hub or clampingdisk can be added, all substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the section F of the hub, its bolts K, the clamping-disk J, and the section F of the hub, the' whole being adapted to each other, to the spokes, and to the axle-box, so as to be readily detachable from the latter, as specified.

5. The combination, substantially as described, and as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, of the double-wedged tenons of the spokes with the section F of the hub, the bolts K, and the clamping-disk J.

6. The combination, substantially as described, of the nut H, with the hub-band L recessed for the reception of the said nut.

' In testimony vwhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. C. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

WM. A. STEEL,

HARRY W. DoUrY. 

